it's very critical for pakistan to decide that it has to remove terrorism from inside pakistan. then it and the u.s. will be on the same page. >> woodruff: all right, we are going to have to leave it there. shuja nawaz, robert grenier, gentlemen, we thank you both. >> lehrer: in washington, a new round of high-level budget and spending negotiations got underway. jeffrey brown has our story. >> brown: vice president biden met with top lawmakers from both parties today to begin talks on cutting the deficit. the bipartisan group, including house majority leader eric cantor, gathered at blair house, across the street from the white house. both sides viewed the meeting as a first step, with no expectations of an immediate deal. >> this is an opening meeting where today i had a chance to talk a little bit with each of my colleagues. we're going to lay down, not a hard negotiating position, but to make sure each of us understands where the other guy's coming from. >> brown: on the table now are budget plans recently put forth by both the president and house republicans. the president's